Selfies and Networking Tips from Sales 2.0

Alice Heiman has been called the ultimate extrovert and a networking queen, and this week at the Sales 2.0 Conference in San Francisco we were happy to welcome her as our Chief Networking Officer.

Alice (and yes, you can see from her LinkedIn profile that she is indeed related to that Heiman, of Miller Heiman fame) was everywhere at Sales 2.0 this week. If she wasn’t onstage making seamless introductions from one speaker to the next, she was mingling with our hundreds of attendees, and snapping selfies on the hashtag #blend and #s20c.

Because one of our big initiatives at Sales 2.0 Events is to encourage networking, we found Alice’s focus on “blending” a great fit. Here are some of the things she asked the audience to do.

Sit with people you don’t know. For some reason, colleagues often come to a conference and then stick to each other like glue. That includes sitting together for all presentations and lunches. Next time, try pulling up a chair next to someone you don’t know. You can always connect with colleagues later in the day (and maybe you’ll have found someone interesting to introduce them to).

Talk to new people. The fear here is that you’re at a sales event — so everyone will want to pitch to you, right? Not necessarily so. Try leading the conversation using simple questions like these:

What did you think of the last presenter?

What’s been your favorite presentation so far and why?

What did you come here to learn?

Part of the value of the event is meeting other sales leaders. Many people at our events end up running into folks they already know who they rarely see. It’s natural to hang out with people you know and like, but remember to go out of your way to make new connections. You can also always feel free to talk with speakers, many of whom stick around just for the purpose of talking with our attendees.

Spread the word with pictures and video. We loved Alice’s request for the audience to snap and tweet selfies throughout the day on Monday and Tuesday whenever they met someone new. (Like any good sales guru, she actually gave everyone an individual quota.) Not only was it fun to see so many photos pop up on the hashtags #s20c and #blend, it gave everyone a sense of connection. Our speakers even got in on the act — during his fantastic presentation, David Meerman Scott took a moment to take a selfie of himself with the audience in the background. (We must also give him props for taking the first selfie Vine video during one of the breaks.)

Thanks to everyone who came out this week and stayed engaged and curious. A very special thank you as well to our hotel hosts, the Four Seasons. We got a lot of compliments on the service, food, and overall hospitality of the staff.

Our next two events will be in Boston (in July) and Las Vegas (in September). Come join us!

Do you often attend business conferences? What are some of your best networking tips? Share your thoughts in the comments section or tweet on the hashtag #s20c.